Tree

"this poem is not about what is written,
but what is not written. . . "
Firmly rooted, I stand in this desert of nothingness
Facing your wrath and warmth with equal willingness
Life around me moves ahead, passes me by
Scorpions, birds and occasionally a butterfly
You gave me all the power to bear fruit, nurture and shade
Yet my entire life passes standing stoically in one place
The wind nudges me, taunts me as it blows
I still stand there unmoved, head shamefully bowed
The leaves that greened with me too flew away
Eloped with the breeze in autumn, left me betrayed
The fruits that I had worked hard to bear
The flowers that graced my wavy hair
With time, these too were snatched away from me,
No reason why I still stand barren and empty.
My bark reverberates with the melancholy of my soul
Waiting for lightning to wield its shining sword.
Afroze Ali
Contest name: 'The unwritten'
5th July 2011

Afroze, I am coming back to this one and reading it again while finally seeing all the winners of this contest and I think I must have been tired at the tme I'd read this before because this is really outstanding and deserved an even higher place than it got. (reminds me of a poem of mine on the same theme!) luv, Andrea

This is truly beautiful and so haunting. This fresh take is one of my favourites because of its rawness and brutal perspective. I could read this a dozen times and focus on a different image each time. Well done! Congrats! Cyndi